Restaurant Review #6: New Orleans

I recently returned from a weekend in New Orleans; all of the food was so good, I couldn't settle on just one place. NOLA is full of restaurants and cafes...and oh yeah, they've got a few bars, too. The weather was not very forgiving, as it monsooned 80% of the time I was there, but it didn't rain on our parade.

Beer tap water fountain.

One of the great things about New Orleans is that every place serves alcohol (including bakeries and cafes) and has a (three-hour) happy hour with amazing deals (from free appetizers to half-off alcohol). The first stop on the culinary streetcar was Il Posto. This is a tiny rustic Italian cafe...picture a cafe effortlessly decorated with distressed mirrors and old dining room chairs. They have quite the selection of cheese and cured meats. Every sandwich comes with a salad tossed with a very light lemon vinaigrette. The multigrain bread contained poppy seeds which added an extra crunch--poppy seeds in loaf bread was a first for me, but I loved it.

Stop two was Sucre; the bakery at which my friend worked for a short while. It also serves alcohol and "adult" milkshakes. They have exotic chocolates (we sampled the candied violet chocolate), desserts that rival the pastries in Harrod's display cases, gelato, and macarons just like the ones I had in Paris. My friend loves the avery, a caramel-filled dark chocolate topped with sea salt. They package the individual chocolates in a tiny pink purse for safe travels. Adorable. I also had to see if the macarons were as good as France's...New Orleans is, after all, the Paris of the States. The almond one was perfect.

Dinner was a happy hour special--half-priced pizzas and beer and wine--at Domenica, an Italian restaurant in the Roosevelt Hotel in the central business district. It's a John Besh restaurant--he's a NOLA native and a James Beard winner. The ambiance was upscale, but the menus that doubled as placemats made it feel more homey. The pizza picks were the MUSHROOM (mushrooms, bacon, onion, and a broken poached egg in the middle) and CALABRESE (salami, mozzarella, capers, and olives), and we paired it with the Chianti...not for the sheer reason that is was the cheapest of the wines on the list...the pizzas were $6.50 during happy hour! What a steal. The crust was thin and crispy, and they were obviously hand tossed, as the shapes they took were rather organic. And I must say, egg and pizza are a surprisingly successful pair.

Old-school Britney...there was a little bit of everything...

We had time to kill before the Britney Spears concert--yes, I said Britney "Oops-I-Did-It-Again" Spears--so we got dessert. The peach cake with salted-caramel sauce and raspberry sorbet definitely sent us over the edge, but we were able to dance it off at Britney. Side note, I've never seen so many rompers in one place in my entire life. No lie. Not even on the racks at Forever 21.

It finally stopped raining, so we were able to sit outside.

Saturday, we had later lunch and that turned into a pub crawl. I was told I had to go to two places in NOLA, and Pat O'Briens, lovingly called Patty-O's, was a must. This, luckily, was stop number one on the pub crawl. I couldn't just go and take in the ambiance with any old drink...I had to order a Hurricane--all 28 ounces of it. So here's photo documentation for all of you who hounded me about getting a hurricane at Pat O'Briens.

Oh, I forgot, one of the other things about NOLA is that some restaurants are BYOB. GLORIOUS. We went to Lebanon's for dinner on Saturday. It was authentically decorated and served traditional Middle Eastern food. The hummus...oh the hummus...it was like velvet. I got the chicken tecka that came with a salad and hummus and pita. I couldn't attempt to eat one-third of it, but it was so delicious and full of garlic. fortunately, everyone's dish was equally as potent...at least I'm hoping I was in good company. And the chicken was cooked so slowly that it was fork tender. The red wine we brought was a perfect pairing--who knew!

Sunday began with brunch at Satsuma in the Metarie--a sort-of alternative, crunchy, grungy district of New Orleans. It is populated with "shotgun houses" (one-story, narrow, and long) painted with any combinations of colors you can imagine, and we drove down Desire Street, but sadly, there's no longer a Streetcar Named Desire. Satsuma is decorated with local art and serves as many local ingredients as they can source. Brunch hit the spot. I snagged a bite of the peaches and cream pancake; all I have to say is buttery deliciousness. I had the Green Breakfast Sandwich which was whole wheat bread housing avocado mash, arugula, and a scrambled egg. The also squeeze their own juice concoctions, so of course, I got the watermelon one--watermelon lemonade!

My wonderful host made dinner on Sunday before we went to see Woody Allen's newest, Midnight in Paris, at a swanky movie theatre. We had sauteed onions, spinach, and white beans over whole wheat pasta. After the movie, we walked past Jackson Square to Cafe du Monde (second and final stop on my unanimous must-see NOLA list).

We got beignets--the french doughnut drowning in powdered sugar. It. Was. So. Good. I said it was like a funnel cake, but I was corrected. I still stand by the fact that it tastes a bit like that, but a little more doughy, because less of the surface area is fried. It still has a similar flavor. They also have famous a famous cafe au lait, but it was already 10:00 at that time. Had I ordered a cup, I would have been up until I needed to leave for the airport at 4:45. After the beignets had been devoured (mostly by me...hey, I'm only in New Orleans once in a blue moon), we all felt like we had powdered sugar from ear to ear, yet somehow we managed to leave unscathed.

Here ends my culinary tour of New Orleans, and I am sure I only saw one-hundredth (or less) of what the city has to offer! There were adorable cafes on every corner--literally. There are so many phenomenal and unique restaurants from which to choose that you rarely have to wait for a table unless you're going to one of the notable New Orleans stops. If you ever get a chance to go, please do so. It is a lively city, and I'm pretty sure it could give New York a run for it's money for the title "The City the Never Sleeps." Everyone is so laid back, too. So much spirit lies within the people and the place itself that you can't help but enjoy yourself, even when it is constantly vacillating between torrential downpour and overcast. It also helps when you have a great host who knows exactly what you like and who has lived in the city long enough to know where the hidden gems (and tourist spots) are located. I know I would not have had the same experience had I seen the city through anyone else's eyes. Everyone start planning your trip to NOLA. No matter who you are--history buff, bar hopper, food lover--you will find plenty of ways to pass the time in the Big Easy.

Restaurant Review #5: Virginia Wine Week at Molasses Grill in Halifax, VA

No, you aren't suffering from deja vu, and you aren't imagining things, I have already reviewed Molasses Grill. I had to share this meal with you though. Going to school in Charlottesville, I developed an appreciation for Virginia Wine, really wine in general, but especially Virginia Wine. On spring days--prettier than the ones we've been having recently--we would always go wine tasting. Of course, we never skipped class for such an activity...never. After tasting, we would purchase a bottle, a baguette, a hunk of cheese, and some salami or some sort of cured meat and sit on the lawn and enjoy the beauty of Charlottesville, local wine, and each other's company.

Knowing how much I love wine--particularly of the Virginia persuasion--and good food, my mom let me know about Virginia Wine Week. VWW was from March 18 - 27, and restaurants, wine stores, and wineries around the state were having specials. Some were pricing specials, some were free tastings, and some were meals inspired by and paired with VA wine. The event Molasses held on March 24 was the latter--a prix fixe, four-course dinner with wine pairings. All courses for everyone partaking in the event were to be served at the same time.

I called several weeks in advance to ensure I had a seat--Molasses is not too, too large. So at 6:00 my roommate, aunt, mother, and I assembled at Molasses to claim the reserved seats. I expected wines from all over Virginia, but only one vineyard was featured...a local vineyard. I was nervous when I had that realization. The only local wine I had had until then was SWEET to say the least...saccharine probably best describes it. I don't even cook with it. Since I hadn't had anything from Hunting Creek Vineyards, I remained open minded...but skeptical. And much to my surprise and pleasure, this was, hands down, the best meal I have had at Molasses.

The first course was duck two ways paired with a viognier--a wine I don't typically like. It was not as sweet as the viogniers I have tasted before, thank goodness. It was very smooth, too, but not buttery like a chardonnay. I found myself saying liking the wine and wanting to purchase a bottle. This course was served chilled the two ways were 1) hickory grilled breast served chilled over a honey and coriander dressed arugula salad and 2) roasted and pulled duck leg served on a crostini. Both ducks was so tender, flavorful, and moist. It literally melted in my mouth. There were crispy, salty bits of skin atop the duck breast on the salad that added great texture and flavor to the dish. I wanted at least two more helpings. Even those who didn't like duck enjoyed this dish.

Second, we had the "Indulgence" merlot-petit verdot blend paired with a roasted wild striped bass. It was served over grits, braised fennel, cured lemon, country ham, bacon, and a red wine Indulgence sauce. The wine was good--fairly light,  not too sweet, with a smoky finish. The chef said he tried to make uncommon pairings--i.e. duck with white, fish with red, and by using lemon and fennel, as they normally do not pair well with wine. Period. I am not a huge bass fan, but it was alright. I wanted an entire plate of the other stuff--the ham, bacon, grits, and red wine sauce. There was also a house-made potato chip that teetered atop the fish, and it was crisp and salty and better than anything you can find in a store. Oh man. So good.

Then along came "Decadence" with the porterhouse (read: HUGE CHUNK OF) lamb. At this point, we were all feeling good--especially me. This was the first drink I had in at two weeks, since I had been preparing for a half-marathon that was the weekend before. We were also getting full, so we did not enjoy the lamb as much as we would have had we been starving and as much as we really should have. Nonetheless, it was delicious, tender, medium-rare, juicy, and I could have drunk the sauce on the place--made from the Decadence wine, 95% petit verdot and 5% viognier. This was my favorite of the two reds. It was extremely smooth, not sweet, but not rich with tanins, not too heavy--juuuust right. The lamb was served along with fingerling potatoes--used to soak up the wine sauce--and local collards. I love leafy greens, and these were cooked perfectly.

To accompany the dessert, we were served a dessert wine--imagine that! I don't drink anything with notable residual sugars. I think all dessert wines taste like fermented honey. While I like honey, the though of drinking it fermented does nothing for me. Whenever we went tasting in college, I'd pass the wines off to someone else, and tonight was no different. I slid the glass to my right for my aunt to enjoy--she loves SWEET. It did, however, have one redeeming factor--the adorable minuscule wine glass in which it was served. The dessert was a strawberry rhubarb crumble topped with green tea-cardamom ice cream. OH MAN. The crumble was tangy and tart from the rhubarb, and the ice cream was cool and refreshing, a fitting dessert after the heavy lamb dish.

The best part--all of this (four courses AND WINE) was the price tag. $29.95 plus tax and gratuity. If you want to eat like a prince on a pauper's budget, come to Southside VA. Well, maybe not a pauper's budget, but you couldn't have gotten half of this meal anywhere else for this price!

Also, you were fortunate enough to dine with the proprietors of the vineyard. You can't get a meal like this anywhere for this price. Put VWW on your calendar/radar next year if you are from VA, and if you aren't from VA, book your tickets and make your reservations now. You'd be silly not to do so.

Restaurant Review #4: Table 45 in Cleveland, OH

So remember that horrendous trip to Cleveland? There were two shining moments in the whole snowy mess--my lunch and dinner appointments that day. Thankfully they went well; that was, after all, the reason I was in Cleveland.

Initially, I was going to drive to western PA for a meeting, but the person I was to meet called and said he would be happy to meet me. Thank goodness, otherwise, I would have been found on the side of 80 in a snow bank. Since he was driving to meet me and was getting off at noon, he couldn't arrive before 2:00 for our lunch. No problem, I said and proceeded to polish off the commercial coffee pot that was full earlier that morning (you know the ones with the lever that you press on the top) just to pass the time. The morning proved to be ample opportunity to search for an appropriate place to lunch. It was more difficult than I initially thought it would be, because so many places close between lunch and dinner. I needed a nice place that was nice and that served food for those random people who want to eat a meal at 3:00.

I found a place called L'Albatros that looked awesome. Zack Bruell is the head chef there in addition to three other restaurants in Cleveland. L'A has a fairly Italian perspective, so I chose Table 45, on of Bruell's other restaurants in the area because of it's global fare.

We arrived and the restaurant was dead...I mean there was probably a game of yatzee going on in the back among the bored servers. The decor was very modern, but not so modern that it felt cold. The tables had pine-colored tops and dark placemats; aside from this, there was very little contrast to the sleek lines, brown chairs that look like they are from the 60s or 70s, and frosted glass. Check out the pictures. We sat at a table near the window and had a view of a snow-covered square. Some would have enjoyed the view; it, however, was a constant reminder that I had packed inadequately (I did check the weather and nowhere did it mention over eight inches of snow) and that I could very well be stuck in Cleveland.

We had to take a moment of silence to decide what we wanted to order; otherwise, the menus would have remained closed and we never would have eaten. Weirdly enough, we each decided to order a soup and a fish dish.

I gravitated toward the sweet potato soup, despite the fact that it included curry in the title. I'm not normally a fan of anything curry, because I think it tastes the way a new car smells. I was feeling adventurous (or ravenously hungry, since it was mid-afternoon) this particular time and ordered it despite its curry-ness. The soup was good. Good, not great. My mother spoiled me as a kid and whenever we had anything with sweet potatoes, she removed the strings. It was very simple, all you have to do is run the beater through the cooked sweet potatoes, and the strings will get stick on the metal prongs. Simple. Takes maximum five minutes. This soup did not have the strings removed, and that bothered me. Aside form that, the soup was good...curry and all. The other soup, which was the daily special, was a thin, cream-based onion soup garnished with chives, and they both enjoyed it. I have to admit, I did not expect a white onion soup.

I ordered the salmon which was cooked perfectly. The outside was seared and crispy, and that seared all of the juices in the fish. It was served alongside a tempura futomaki roll and boiled bok choy. There was a side of "spicy aoli" that I thought could have been spicier. The other fish ordered was the mahi mahi with a veracruz sauce--like a tomato, olive, caper stew--and asparagus. Everything was delicious; I don't think you will go wrong with anything from this restaurant, or I dare say, any of Bruell's others.

Since I don't have pictures from this trip and the ones linked above are copywrited, I will decorate this blog with a few stories from the meal and trip to/from the restaurant.

1) The man I met was a doctor. And he loves being a doctor. He was a bit late to pick me up, because he had a procedure that ran late. You're probably asking what type of procedure. It was your standard polyp removal, as it was particularly large and required a bit more time.

I have asked doctors how do they separate themselves from the blood and the guts and he sees it as a job, a process...just as you are able to sort your files without getting queasy. Well, he doesn't quite understand that not everyone can disconnect themselves from the gory thoughts. Fortunately, I have a strong stomach and was able to handle the description of the procedure and allllll of the details...at the table! He even took pictures and offered to show them to me. After lunch and more GI talk, he dropped my off at the bed and breakfast and hopped out of the car. As I was walking toward the sidewalk, he opened the back of the SUV and said, "Wait, you have to see the pictures!"

2) After lunch and several waters, I went to the restroom while the valet was bringing the car; when I came out, the Dr. was nowhere to be found! I saw him just a few minutes later, and he had a small bag from the gift shop in his hand. In the car he passed it to me, and I opened it to find a shot glass adorned with the Cleveland skyline. Did I mention this was a work lunch date? Shot glass, really?

I also received a box of chocolates from the world's largest chocolate store and an antique vase.

3) Finally, we were leaving the restaurant, and he had accidentally clicked his home address in the GPS, so we were riding around the wrong side of the tracks for ten minutes, before he realized the destination was two hours away--the B&B was only 2.5 miles from lunch.

Hope you enjoyed the potpourri from lunch, and if you ever find yourself in Cleveland, go to Table 45.

Restaurant Review #3: The HouseBoat in Montego Bay, Jamaica

I am ashamed at how little time I have had to cook recently, and thus, my blog is truly suffering. I plan on having a revival this weekend. Expect desserts galore, as I will be baking many thank-you gifts. I will try to make some real food, too, although that's overrated. For the time being, I am going to take a few minutes to bring a little warmth into your Friday afternoon and transport you (and me) to the islands...Jamaica, here we come.

Pretty.

Ever been to Jamaica? I've only been once (layovers for other trips don't count) and only for a couple of days for work (please insert your sympathy for me here). I was there with a bunch of other people who are in the same line of work.

Frankly, I was not that impressed with J. If you've been and loved it, do tell me where to go, because I'm willing to admit that I had a bad experience and the whole island isn't worth condemnation--with the exception of The HouseBoat. We stayed between the cities of Kingston and Montego Bay in a sketchy 'resort.' I use quotations, because that's what they called themselves. I was terrified I was going to get bedbugs the entire time and the all-inclusive drinks were just sugar and water and a little bit of watered-down rail rum--not my definition of a resort.

Anyway, after one night at the first place (that had me wishing for a fumigated room), we went to Montego Bay, which was much more of a city. There was little strip of bars, restaurants, and shops--a stark contrast from the first compound. We had been referred to The HouseBoat by a contact of one of the other people on the trip. It had to be better than the mass-produced food in the hotel dining hall, so a group of us decided to set out on a dinner excursion.

Everyone else staying in MB that night had the same idea, so we could only get reservations for 10:05--closer to my bedtime than my usual dinnertime. After the reviews I had heard from the staff and others (and seeing the menu in the hotel lobby) I was psyched...10:05 dinner, here I come. Hello, heartburn.

Restaurant Review #2: Cafe Rustica in Richmond, VA

Guys, you'd be so proud. I left the village this past weekend for civilization. I grew up going to Richmond fairly often; it is an old, spirited city with a lot of charm. I even had the chance to live in Richmond suburbia (not ideal, but better than the alternative). In the Fan is the residential district to the west of the business district and the state capitol and to the east of the West End. The Fan is full of row houses dating from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century. They are spotted with details like crystal doorknobs, original stained glass windows, detailed woodwork the thought of painting makes you want to hire someone, fireplaces, and 12-foot ceilings. Each house comes fully equipped with it's own set of creaks and cracks; it's like they're trying to tell you some of the history of that place. I find old houses--noisy floors and all--extremely endearing.

There's something about that city that has always appealed to me and always felt like home. I will get there eventually, but for now, I will have to settle for random visits. Luckily, I have enough excuses (college friends and family friends) that I could probably visit every weekend for two months and stay with someone different each time.

That leads me to my most recent trip...I have been wanting to introduce my oldest (read: we met at orientation) college friend who is in law school and my adopted aunt and uncle/godparents ('family friends' just doesn't do them justice), because they live on the same street a block away from each other. We were finally able to coordinate all of our schedules and had a wonderful dinner with bacon-wrapped dates, crusty bread (make this one, it's insanely easy), cheese and crackers, shrimp scampi, roasted broccoli, and of course, the SYMG tart. Dinner was great, and the company was even better! 

The daughter of the family friends works at a restaurant downtown called Cafe Rustica. On their website, they describe their food as "European comfort food."  After hearing rave reviews of the food and the prix fixe menu on Sundays, I decided I had to fit a visit to CR into my weekend schedule.

This is from the website...no that's not pot roast or lasagna,
but see how good it looks!!

In general, the food on the website sounds delicious--from the butternut ravioli with duck confit, kale and sage butter sauce to the Mediterranean short stack (a shrimp, scallop, and crab cake with a lemon dill sauce). But we were going for the Sunday prix fixe menu, which features two appetizers, two entrées, and a dessert for $15 per person. The night we went, they were featuring an artichoke and caper salad and tomato basil soup with housemade croutons and Fontina cheese. Pot roast with root vegetables and vegetarian lasagna with a Florentine sauce were the chosen entrées of the night. The dessert was bread pudding with berry compote.

When you walk into the restaurant, the first thing you notice is the decor. It is a small space that can probably only seat 50 people, there are a couple tables for two in the window, several bar seats, booths down one side made of old doors that have had the paint scraped off them, and a table in the back for larger parties. It is very warm, inviting and, for lack of a better word, rustic. I LOVE this type of feel. It's not pretentious, and it's totally comfortable. You feel like you're walking into a friend's house and are going to be served food that was made with a lot of love. And that's exactly what we got...

We were served a basket of homemade bread as soon as we sat down. There was a herbed, salty focaccia and a chewy white bread. The oil on the table was in an Orangina bottle with your typical wine pourer--such a resourceful idea! I ordered the salad and everyone else tried the soup. The salad was awesome. The artichokes were not too briny, as I often think is the case, and to my surprise, I liked the capers. It was a very light start to the meal.

The Sunday night menu seems to feature things that are easily prepared that day and served that day, so there is no customization allowed, but the chefs know exactly what they are doing. You wouldn't want to change anything about the dishes they prepared. Two people ordered the pot roast and two people (me being one of them) ordered the lasagna.

The pot roast featured potatoes, carrots, and turnips served in a bath of au jus. The server put down two empty plates for the roast eaters and brought this huge platter of roast beef and vegetables, and they were able to serve themselves family style. There was enough meat for all four of us, and we leftovers home for two meals. The meat was falling apart and was extremely juicy. No wonder this place has won several awards.

I ordered the lasagna, and it was served in an adorable, mini-casserole dish smothered in a vibrant green sauce. Between the layers of pasta and ricotta, there were toasted tomatoes, zucchini, and yellow squash. It was unbelievable; this is the type of meal you want on a cold winter night. Although it was a very mild February night, I enjoyed this dinner just as much as if there were a wind chill of -2.

For dessert, I was not all that excited about the bread pudding, but I, naturally, was not going to turn down a dessert, especially if it was coning regardless. I am typically not a fan of puddings unless it's tapioca or a milk-based pudding without chunks (read: corn, rice, or soggy bread). I tried the pudding, because it was drowned in a berry compote, and then I couldn't resist eating the rest of it! The tartness and sweetness of the berry compote was irresistible.

I almost forgot to mention that there are wine specials--$12, $14, and $16 bottles (at least the night we went those were the prices, they may vary). We decided not to have beverages, because Monday morning was coming much sooner than we wanted to admit.

We all left slightly miserably full and very, very happy campers. Moral of the story: you have to visit Cafe Rustica if you are in/near Richmond. They don't take reservations, so if you go and they are busy, wait it out. You will not regret your decision.

***All pictures are from http://caferusticarva.com/index.htm as I did not have my camera with me...I know, unacceptable!

Restaurant Review #1: Molasses Grill in Halifax, VA

I know all of you faithful readers (who am I kidding, Mom, Dad, and Marguerite) have been waiting on pins and needles for a restaurant review, after all, this is a forum for me to write about delicious and/or innovative and/or memorable dishes and places I have eaten.  

Had I conjured this genius blog idea before December, I would have nothing but restaurant reviews on here. I do nothing but eat out in some of the most unique, sometimes hole-in-the-wall, sometimes extravagant restaurants for twelve straight weeks, and then, the travel stops cold turkey before the Christmas holiday. Aaaaaaaand the rest of the year, I live in a in a village (of sorts) in southern Virginia. The two best restaurants are 45 minutes away, and I do my grocery shopping at...I'm embarrassed to say.

I love my job; I love my life; I'm just trying to justify my lack of restaurant reviews until this point. I have made an executive decision to randomly surprise you with posts from restaurants from my traveling days. I will have to include pictures from the web, but it's better that than you not knowing these places exist until I return in the fall and take my own pictures.

We will start off in my hometown of Halifax, VA for the inaugural restaurant review. (I actually went here this past weekend and took some of my own pictures.)